This professional development course is designed for engineers and technicians who need to gain an understanding of offshore pipeline design, construction, installation, operation, and maintenance.

The course is composed of 12 modules, covering topics such as pipeline specifications and standards, key requirements that define pipeline routing, fluid properties, and processes and their importance to pipeline design and construction, similarities and differences in onshore and offshore pipelines, assessing pipeline failures and preventing damage, and safety and environmental regulations in pipeline design.

Module 1: Introduction and Overview

• Pipeline basics and factors influencing pipeline design
• Pipeline route selection
• Codes and standards affecting pipeline design, construction, operation and maintenance
• Pipeline design principles – hydraulics, mechanical design, materials of construction
• Pipeline construction fundamentals
• Pipeline protection and maintenance
• Pipeline economics
• Physical quantities and units used in pipeline design

Module 2: Pipeline Design, Operation and Maintenance Standards

• Codes and specifications
• Codes and standards governing the design, operation, and maintenance of pipeline
• Common features of pipeline codes and standards
• Symbols and units used in pipeline design standards
• Abbreviation used in pipeline design standards
• Information typically contained in piping specifications
• Guidelines for pipeline operation and maintenance

Module 3: Pipeline Routing

• Introduction to pipeline routing
• Factors influencing pipeline routing
• Pipeline routing “rules of thumb”
• Tools and data used in pipeline routing
• Consideration of alternate routes

Module 4: Liquid and Gas Flow

• Liquid and gas flow fundamentals
• Basic hydrodynamics
• Multiphase flow
• Coping with fluctuations in pipeline operating conditions
• Optimization of line size, pressure drop and location of pumping stations
• Hydrate formation/prevention
• Wax formation/protection
• Design optimization of gas pipelines

Module 5: General Pipeline Design Considerations

• Forces and stresses in pipelines
• Criteria for mechanical design including code criteria
• Specified minimum yield strength of pipeline materials
• Mechanical design equations: calculations of Maximum Allowable Pressure (MAP) and minimum required wall thickness of pipelines
• Sustained loads in pipelines and stresses due to thermal expansion/contraction
• Estimating the maximum span of unsupported pipe
• Offshore spanning, spanning control and spanning correction
• Design of pipeline riser for offshore pipelines
• Pipeline shore approaches

Module 6: Pipeline Materials

• Common pipeline materials
• Metallurgy and manufacture of low-alloy carbon-manganese steel pipes
• Effect of treatment of pipeline steels
• Flexible and composite pipelines
• High pressure and high-temperature pipelines

Module 7: Onshore Pipeline Construction

• Sequence of construction activities
• Construction equipment
• Preparing of the Right of Way (ROW) for the pipeline
• Stringing the pipeline
• Bending
• Welding and post-weld qualification
• Lowering
• Tie-in and assembly
• Testing and inspection
• Backfilling of trench
• Construction techniques used in water crossing
• Commissioning the pipeline

Module 8: Offshore Pipeline Construction

• Construction methods (lay barges, reel barges, pull and tow)
• Pipeline trenching methods
• Pipeline bundles
• Pipe in pipe method
• Flexible pipelines and umbilical
• Cross country and offshore system welding

Module 9: Pipeline Installation

• Pipeline installation methods
• Pipeline bending stress control
• Pipeline on-bottom stability control
• S-lay, J-lay, deepwater installation
• Allowable installation stresses/fatigue
• Burial methods and depths

Module 10: Pipeline Commissioning, Operation, Maintenance and Failures

• Pipeline pressure testing and pre-commissioning
• Flow assurance
• Pigging operations
• Pipeline integrity management
• Pipeline monitoring and inspection
• Leak detection and emergency planning
• Defect assessment
• Intervention, repair, and modification
• Failure modes
• Risks, reliability, and safety
• Environmental and regulatory requirements

Module 11: Pipeline Protection

• Possible causes and consequences of pipeline damage
• Prevention of pipeline damage
• Corrosion fundamentals
• Characteristics and properties of pipeline coatings
• Cathodic protection
• Internal corrosion
• Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC)
• Pipeline integrity programs
• Thermal coating and pipeline insulation
• Weight coating for stability on seabed

Module 12: Pipeline Economics and Asset Management

• Introduction to pipeline economics
• Terminology used in pipeline economics
• Pipeline performance: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for monitoring and assessing pipeline performance

Course Benefits

• This course has been mapped to Australian Pipelines and Gas Association (APGA) Pipeline Engineer Competency Standards.
• Receive a Certificate of Completion from EIT.
• Learn from well-known faculty and industry experts from around the globe.
• Flexibility of attending anytime from anywhere, even when you are working full-time.
• Interact with industry experts during the webinars and get the latest updates/announcements on the subject.
• Experience a global learning with students from various backgrounds and experience which is a great networking opportunity.
• Gain in-depth understanding of pipeline engineering – pipeline design, construction, installation, operation, and maintenance.
• Learn about advanced practices in asset management and pipeline economics.
• Develop knowledge on the applicable international standards and specifications related to pipeline design, operation, and maintenance.
• Understand the use of key performance indicators (KPI’s) and how they are derived to measure the performance of the pipeline.

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